John Lennon at Tittenhurst Park, London Road, Sunningdale, Ascot,
Berkshire

Tittenhurst Park

This Tittenhurst Park blog is dedicated to John Lennon's home in Sunningdale, near Ascot, Berkshire between 1969 and 1971. The aim is to gather as much material relating to the estate as possible - obviously with the emphasis on the Lennon-era, but also concerning Tittenhurst Park as it was before and after John Lennon's ownership. In addition, there will be posts about and associated with the Beatles, plus any other rubbish I feel like. The blog is purely meant for the entertainment of anyone (assuming there is actually anyone) who, like me, has an unhealthy interest in one particular Georgian mansion. Those with anything interesting to contribute in the way of links, photos, scans, stories etc. please do contact me: tittenhurstlennon@gmail.com(Legal: this blog is strictly non-commercial. All material is the property of the photographer/artist/copyright holder concerned. Any such who wishes a picture etc to be removed should contact me and I will do so. Alternatively, if someone is happy to see their photo on here, but would like a credit/link then let me know and I'll be happy to provide one). Enjoy!

Saturday

Lennon may have died tragically young, but he achieved a phenomenal amount in his 40 years.The music, of course, was magical, but he also left another lasting legacy – a legacy of peace and anti-war campaigning. To many, John Lennon was a man of many contradictions – while he, himself, certainly never claimed to be a saint. He was, though, a man with an unshakeable faith in humanity and a man who didn’t just sing about, but stood up and campaigned for peace. It is, therefore, only right and fitting that a peace monument dedicated to his memory is to be built – and it is only right and fitting that Liverpool will be its home.

Commissioned by the California-based organisation Global Peace Initiative and to be created by American artist Lauren Voiers, the 18ft metal monument is due to be unveiled by Lennon’s son, Julian, this October. We don’t yet know where it will be situated – although the bigger question, perhaps, is what, exactly, will it look like? So while we welcome the news, it would, therefore, perhaps be wise to also cross our fingers at the same time – in the hope that the finished work will do the great man justice! Sadly, although the monument aims to celebrate Lennon’s message of peace – as well as the man, himself – there will, no doubt, be some who will pour scorn on “yet another Beatles landmark”. But we should actually be doing more to celebrate the four lads who shook the world – and certainly be doing more to spread the message of peace.

Thursday

A Beatles interview tape in which John Lennon is questioned about his suggestion the band were “more popular than Jesus” is to go up for auction. The recording was made in August 1966, four years before the band split. It includes John Lennon being asked about the comments, just weeks after they appeared in a US teen magazine. His words sparked outrage across America, especially in the religious southern states and John Lennon received death threats.The tape also reveals John Lennon and Paul McCartney hinting at the band’s break up.John Lennon is heard to say: “We’re obviously not going to go around holding hands forever.”While Paul McCartney adds: “It would be a bit, you know, embarrassing at 35.”At the time of the recording the Beatles were in the middle of their final US tour and days away from arriving in the south, where radio stations had banned their music and Beatles records were publicly burned. While their words have been well reported, the recording is thought to be the only one in existence and was made by a young journalist working for a Canadian newspaper. At the time the journalist tried to sell the tapes but no-one thought they were important. So they ended up left in a drawer for 44 years, before recently being heard again.The reel-to-reel tapes will now be sold at auction in LA among a host of rare collectibles.Bonhams and Butterfields, who are holding the auction expect the tapes to fetch up to $25,000 (£16,800).

Tuesday

Christopher Eccleston has revealed all about filming nude scenes for new TV drama Lennon Naked. Part of BBC Four's Fatherhood Season. The Salford actor strips off as former Beatle John Lennon, along with Torchwood actress Naoko Mori as Yoko Ono, to recreate the couple’s 1968 naked photo session.The couple used a time-delay camera to capture the full frontal images of themselves for the cover of their album Two Virgins, which caused uproar at the time. Asked if he was self-conscious about getting his kit off, Eccleston, 46, laughed: “What do you think? When you’re going to shoot that scene you think, ‘Well, he did it,’ so you do it. And then you all have to look at it. I just held my stomach in.” Pendleton-born Eccleston was transformed into Lennon for the BBC4 film with the help of a wig and a voice coach to capture his Liverpool accent. It features a scene where John Lennon steps fully clothed into the swimming pool at his luxury mansion after meeting French film star Brigitte Bardot. He said: “There is a fantastic out-take where I jump into the pool, enter the water and my wig stays on the surface. I think John Lennon, had he directed this film, would have kept that in.” “He’s not been a hero of mine. But I love him because he is so deeply flawed as a human being and he left so much for us,” added Eccleston, who played a Manchester Jesus in TV drama The Second Coming. The film features actors playing the roles of Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr and includes real footage of the Fab Four as well as their music. Due to be screened in June, it tells the story of Lennon from Beatlemania to his flight to a new life with Yoko in New York in 1971.